RED
by writingmuffin
Summary: We all know the classic story of Little Red Riding hood. In this retelling, you can fall in love with it all over again. It follows Little Red into the aftermath of the wolf attack, and deals with romance, death, and betrayel.
1. Bite

My name is Mary Meclane. I used live with my mother and father on a small farm in a tiny village outside of a palace. I loved it there. I fed the chickens and helped my mother cook and clean. I was an obediant little girl and listened to every word my parents said to me. From a young age I was taught many things, such as women cant fight. I believed them, I believed that it was my place to cook and clean and have children, but that all changed very quickly.

It was a bright sunny day, my 10th birthday was just last week. Life was good, but then mother gave me news that my grandmother had become ill and could no longer cook for herself. My mom baked some bread and made some sandwiches, and then sent me away with a basket full of goodies for my granny. I skipped along the path, my short brown hair bouncing up and down. I had on my favorite yellow dress and a new pare of brown shoes from my aunty.

I was about halfway into to forest when a man jumped out in front of me. He had on very fancy clothing and he smelt of pine. His black hair was pushed back and his dark brown eyes seemed lighter then they should have. His skin was tanned wonderfully and his fingernails where clean. If I was much older, I would have found him to be very handsome.

"Hello little girl. My name is Mr. Spruce. What is that you are carrying?" He asked, leaning down towards eye level.

" Oh, this is food for my granny. She is ill and can no longer cook for herself." I answered. I felt like I could trust him.

He jumped up and grinned at me, his smile white and bright. "The old ladies cottage? I know a short cut to that place! It will cut your time in half, and then you can also pick some flowers for her." He moved a tree limb to reveal a small field of lovely wild flowers.

I nodded happily and walked into the field. "Mr. Spruce, thank you so much! Granny will love these. Now, where is the shortcut?"

Mr. Spruce pointed to a different path past the field. "That one will get you there just in time. You wont be a moment late, even if you take a long while picking flowers."

I leaned down to pick up a blue flower and put it into my basket. I turned back to thank him again, but he was gone. I didn't think much of it, and leaned down again to pick more flowers.

After picking all the flowers I could, I started back on my way to grannys house. Mr. Spruce was right, I got to her house very quickly.

I knocked on the door and opened it up. "Hello, granny? It's me, Mary. I've come to bring you some food."

Laying on the bed was my grandmother, and she did look very sick. Well, maybe not sick, but different. I was so distracted by her appearence, that I didn't even notice the small bit of blood coming out from underneath the closet door.

I reached her bed and placed the food on her bedside table. "Oh grandma, what big eyes you have!"

My grandmother batted her eyelashes and smiled a little. "All the better to see you with my dear."

My eyes moved to her ears. "Oh grandma, what big ears you have!"

She wiggled her ears slightly and repiled, "All the better to hear you with my dear."

I then moved my eyes to her mouth, looking at her smile. "Oh grandma, what big teeth you have!"

Her smiled widened as she jumped out of the bed, pushing me onto the ground. She took off her sleeping gown and bonnet, to reveal fancy garm and slicked black hair. "All the better to eat you with my dear!"

Mr. Spruce stood over me, smiling evily. I couldn't move or scream. I was paralyzed in fear. If what I just saw wasnt enough, Mr. Spruce began to change. His face became long and furry, and his hands and feet became level. His clothes dissapeared and where replaced with thick plack fur. Standing in front of me where Mr. Spruce once stood, was a huge black wolf.

It towered above me. I remember thinking that it must be as tall if not taller then a fully grown man. It growled at me and jumped towards my middle. I rolled at the last minute and he grabbed my arm in his teeth. A stinging pain ran through me and I could feel his teeth inside of my arm.

Just when I was accepting my fate as dog food, I heard the window behind me shatter. The black wolf let go of my arm and turned its head to an equally large gray wolf standing in the room. The growled at each other for a while befire the black one jumped. The gray one was faster, and moved at the last minute, leaving the other wolf to fall to the ground with a thud. The gray one jumped onto the other and bit its face, and a tooth went straight into the black ones eye. It let out a howl of pain and broke free from the other, jumping out of the window right after and running off into the forest. I don't remember what happened for a while after that, because my vision went black.

I woke up in my grandmothers bed. The scar on my arm was stil pained but it didn't seem to be getting any worse, and it wasn't bleeding. I looked up and saw a man sitting on a chair. His pants where dirty, and he had a ratty brown shirt. A fox skin was draped around his neck and I could see a bow strapped to his back. His hair was snowy white and his eyes where a hazy blue. He was a bit younger then my father, but not by much.

He looked up at me and smiled. His teeth just as white as his hair. "Hello there child, I am glad you are awake. I was beginning to think it would start before I had time to say anything."

I looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What will start?"

He walked over to my bed and set a messily rapped gift in my lap. "The transformation. Nevermind that for now though, I need to tell you something. There was a body in the closet. It was your grandmother."

I couldnt believe this. This day was so horrible, I wanted to cry. I did cry. My grandmother was dead and it was all my fault. All mine. "I-its my-y f-f-fault." I said between tears.

The man placed a hand on my back and said in a comforting tone, "No, he was planning an attack. He would have done it no matter what. He just decided to have a little fun with you."

I wiped my tears away and looked into his eyes. "I can never go back. Please dont make me go back."

He smiled, but his eyes where sad. "That is good in a way. You see, that bite is going to change you. You will be like me. You will be able to change your shape from wolf to human at will. Since you werent born with this power though, you will be a bit weaker. I am sorry."

I shook my head and scooted farther from his face. "I cant be one of you. I would rather die then become a monster like what I saw here today."

He took my hand in his and squeezed, shaking his head. "They are from an evil guild. I rule a different guild. We protect the villagers. If they wonder to far into the forest, we scare them back. We also fight off any wandering wolfs from that guild. We are the star clan, and we are good. You need to come with me, so I can teach you. Please."

He convinced me. It was logical. I couldnt return like that. I couldnt become a monster while at home. I would get ran out of town, or worse. "What about my mother and father. They will come looking for me."

The man shook his head. "I will say I am a hunter. I came in on a terrible scene, a young girl eaten whole by a wolf along with her grandmother. I killed the wolf, but it was to late for the two."

I giggled a bit. "That's impossible Mister. Wolfs cant do that, even as big as you where."

He nodded. "You will be suprised at to what people believe. Oh, and my name is Snowstorm. Nice to meet you."

I smiled at him. "Nice to meet you, my name is Mary." For some reason, I felt at ease and safe when I was around him.

He then pushed the package towards me even more. I had forgotten about it during the conversation. I held it up and saw in very small letters on the front it said,

_For My Dear Mary,_

_I can't believe you have turned 10. I still remember the day you where born._

_When I was your age my grandmother gave me a blue hood for my birthday. Today I continue that legacy._

_I love you, very very much. ~ Granny_

I opened up the package and inside I saw something bright red. It has small stiched flower paterns on it. I unfolded it even more, and saw that it was a red hood. The same color as blood. I stood up and walked over to the a mirror. I put the hood over my head and tied it around my neck.

Snowstorm walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Would you look at that, it's a little red riding hood."


	2. The Slave Witch

When I was fifteen I had been given the name of Little Red. I was smaller then all the other wolves and I was never caught anywhere without my hood. It was very flashy and didn't help with camoflouge, but it hadn't caused any major problems. I had become the go to guild member for patrols, and I was in the forrest watching the borders most of the time. Nothing exiting happened for the longest time, not until I saw her.

I was leaning against a tree sharpening a stick into a slightly sharper stick, when I smelt the strong smell of blood. I set my stick down and followed it until I heard the sound of feet against ground, so I hid behind a tree.

I saw a girl running through the forrest, covered in blood and crying. She had very dark skin, almost black, her eyes where the same. She had on a raggedy brown dress and her long hair was in small braids all over her head. She didn't seem to be much older then me, but I didn't know for sure.

I began to smell horses and I heard the sound of them running. "_Oh good, their coming to save her." _I thought.

It was about five men, all on tall well groomed white horses with golden sashes. These where the castles horses. The girl tripped over a tree root and fell onto the ground, her ankle was twisted in a horrible fashion.

The men ran around her and threw a net over her, even though she wouldn't be able to move with that ankle. They all laughed and one man got off his horse and walked over to her.

The girl stopped crying so she could talk. "Please sir, I don't want to go. Please don't make me."

Her accent was strange, but I had heard it before. This is the way people from the capitol talked. Why would someone from the capitol be in this kind of situation?

The man kicked her in the stomach, and smiled widley, showing off his yellowed teeth. "Shut up witch. You are needed as a slave in the southern islands. You can't hex your way out of this one."

I had seen enough. I transformed quickly and jumped in between the girl and the man. Even though I was small, my mouth was level with his neck. I snapped and growled at them, making the horses panic. He swung his sword at me but I ducked. I went for his throat and easily ripped it out, blood shooting everywhere. A couple of the men shot arrows at me, but I dodged all of them. I bit the leg of one of the horses, making it rear up and drop its rider. The other horses ran with the men still on them, and I finished the fallen man of with the same exact bite to the throat.

I transformed back and wiped the blood from my mouth and dress with my heinkerchief. I walked over to the girl under the net, and pulled it off of her. She was mortified and tried to stand up, which caused her to yell out in pain and fall back down to the ground.

I backed up to show her that I didn't want to hurt her. "It's okay, you're safe. You need to stop trying to stand up, you've broken your ankle. I need to align the bones again or it will never heal right."

The fear slowly slid off her face and she nodded. I scooted over and held her foot in my hands. I counted to three, and then popped the ankle back into its proper place. She took in a deep breath, but didn't make any sound.

"There, it will heal now. You should still let it set a bit before you try to walk any. While we wait, how about you tell me the basics. Your name, why they wanted to enslave you when your from the capitol, and why they called you a witch." I said, crossing my arms and leaning back against a tree.

She wiped off some tears and looked up at me. "My name is Natina. Ever since I was little I loved magic. I learned I was able to brew things that heal wounds over night, and things that can cure illness. I could also ease the pain of chuld birth and make plants grow at fast rates. They labled me a witch when I tried to show people my gifts, and they decided to send me into slavery so I couldn't spread my 'black magic' here."

"That's horrible. I'm sorry. Do you have a family to return to?" I asked, trying to work up a sympathetic look.

She shook her head and sighed. "No. My mother died in childbirth and my father was killed in a hunting trip last month. My aunt and uncle want nothing to do with me. I have nowhere to go."

I smiled at her, a great idea popping into my head. "Yes, yes you do have somehwere to go. You can stay with me. You could live with me. I couldn't bring you back to the clan but we could work something out if you want."

She smiled back, a beatiful smile. "I dont even know your name."

I put my hand out to shake. "My name is Little Red, but you can call me Mary if you like."

She took my hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you Mary."

The clan assigned me as the only patrol for the border. They put me and Natina in my grandmas old cottage, since it was so close to the border. People would coming looking for Natina, and I would always meet them. I would always kill them.


	3. The Beaten Boy

It had been ten years since I saved Natalia from those men in the woods. I had become a bit of a town legend, seeing as though I killed every man that entered trying to find Natalia. I couldn't help it, it was either me or them. I had been injured quite a lot in those fights, but Natalia had always patched me back up. I loved her, I would get hurt hundreds more times to protect her.

One evening another man came into the forest, screaming into the trees. "Come out you evil wolf and face me!"

As always I walked out towards him, ready for another fight. This time however, he dropped his sword and held out his hands. No man had ever done that before. "Wolf, I know you aren't 100% beast. Beasts cannot understand English. Show your true form to me, so that we may have a real fight."

I was confused, but I did what was asked. I ran behind a tree and came out in my regular shape. I had on a shorter and lighter dress for fighting, and any exposed skin was covered with chain mail. Around my neck my red hood was tied.

The man laughed, holding his chest and wiping his eyes. "A girl! The fearsome beast is nothing but a woman! This will be an easy fight."

I instantly hated this guy. I stepped forward and drew my sword. "Yes, it will be."

He swung towards me chest, but I was to quick. I went under his sword and slashed towards his middle, cutting a small red smile into him. He didn't stop fighting, and lunged at me once more. It caught my arm and made me drop my sword from the shock. He tried to strike a finishing blow but I grabbed his sword. I could feel the iron cutting into my hand, but I was still able to pull it out of his hands and into mine. He became confused and I used this chance to kick him in the chest, throwing him onto the ground.

I held his own sword over his neck, smiling at his terrified face. "You should really think twice before being such a show off. If you had put in some more effort, the fight would have lasted longer. I would have won no matter what though."

He began to cry, which caught me off guard. "Please lady, please don't kill me. I have a son and a wife who both depend on me. My little boy is only ten years old. Spare me, please have mercy!"

I wasn't about the kill this man, not after what he just said to me. I backed away from him and threw his sword back towards him "Go then, but never return. Spread the word to the entire village, if they attack, I will attack back."

He nodded and ran off back to town. I waited until he was out off sight, and then I followed him. I had to make sure he did exactly what I told him to.

When I finally reached the village, I saw nearly everyone in town standing around a small stage used for county fairs and singing. The man I had just defeated in to forest was standing on it, yelling at everyone. "There is a beast within the forest! She is dangerous, and will attack anyone who attacks her!"

I was satisfied. It seemed that he had gotten the message across. I made my way back into the forest. Natalia was making a stew.

I stood in the crowd, my father was yelling on the stage. Apparently he had just gotten into a fight with the legendary wolf. I was listening intently, brushing my blonde hair out of my eyes every few seconds so that I could get a good look at the motions he was making.

"Because she is so dangerous, we cannot sit by while she is that close to our village! We need to kill her! Kill the wolf!" My father turned his message into something much worse.

"KILL THE WOLF! KILL THE WOLF!" Everyone around the stage was now chanting along with my father. I was surprised. My father said she attacked people who attacked her. Nobody else.

I held my hand up, getting a nasty look from my father. "What is it boy, speak up!"

I brushed my hair out of my eyes again and cleared my throat. "You said she only attacks people who attack her first. Can't we just leave her alone?"

People in the crowd began to whisper among themselves, silently doubting my fathers plan. I could see the rage building up inside of him. I was going to pay for this later.

My father looked back out at everyone, waving his hands over his head. "Don't listen to the boy! He's just a child, he doesn't know better! A beast is a beast, no matter what. Do we really want something like that so close to our children, our livestock, our town?!"

The crowd was back on my fathers side. They wanted to kill that wolf that was only protecting itself. I had to do something. Innocent things don't deserve to die, not even a wolf.

I snaked my way through the crowd, and made a running dash into the forest. My father didn't notice me, he was to busy forming a riot.

I was about ten minutes into the forest when I heard the crunch of leaves. I stopped walking, frozen in fear. I was instantly regretting my decision of running away, when I saw a pretty young lady with long brown hair and green eyes walk out in front of me. She had on woman's fighting clothes along with a red hood.

"Boy, what are you doing in the forest? Don't you know there is a beast here?" She had a soft and concerned look on her face.

"I'm here to warn the beast, the town is planning on killing her!" I couldn't let her take me back to the town.

She smiled a little bit and walk towards me. "You're talking to her." Her smile faded and she brushed away some hair from my neck. She gasped as he saw a huge black and blue bruise on my neck. "Who did this to you?!"

"My father. If I do something wrong, or I say something wrong, or if he's had to much to drink, he hits me and mother." I felt like I could completely trust this girl, even if she did just tell me she was a beast.

She shook her head and took my hand in hers. "Come with me, your having some dinner with my girlfriend and I."

Natalia was a bit concerned when I brought a little boy into the cottage to have dinner, but when I told her about the bruises and how he had come to warn me, she warmed up to him. She even added some healing drops into his bowl of stew. It was going to help any cuts or bruises anywhere on his body heal up overnight. He was a nice boy. Calm, polite, and very curios.

"How do you turn into a wolf?" He asked, shoveling some of the stew into his mouth.

"I was bitten when I was ten. Do you know the story of the little girl swallowed whole by the wolf?" I really enjoyed the company I was getting from him.

"My mother tells me that all the time! She gets emotional though. I guess she doesn't like the idea of a child my age going through that. Especially with her grandmother." He stared down at the bowl, twirling the mixture with his spoon.

"Well, I was that little girl. I was never swallowed whole, I was just bitten. I couldn't return home, so the wolf that saved me made up that story so people wouldn't look for me." I had never told anyone that I was the lost little girl. Well, I had told Natalia, but my story didn't reach as far as the capitol.

He gasped, a surprised look filled his face. "That's so cool! I would have never guessed that you where the beast! Oh... I'm sorry. Wolf."

I shook my head and took another bite of stew. "Don't worry about it. It makes me sound more threatening."

He laughed a little bit more, his eyes seemed a little red. "Why do you stay here? On the border between forest and deep forest?"

Natalia took my bowl and replaced it with another full one. I thanked her and turned back to the young boy. "The wolf that attacked me is part of a very evil guild. If people go to far into the forest, they would be instantly torn apart. I live here so that if they get to far I can scare them back. I also fight off any wolfs from that guild. Oh, forgive me, I don't know your name, and you don't know mine! Call me Red."

The boy rubbed his eyes and yawned. "My name is Dudley Cantilla." He closed he eyes and slumped into the chair, fast asleep.

Natalia laughed and walked over to him, taking the bowl and setting it into the washing bucket. "Looks like the sleeping root I slipped into his stew is finally working. He can sleep in my bed for the night, as long as I can sleep with you in yours." She kissed my cheek as I stood up, smiling at me.

"That will work. Poor boy, nobody deserves to have a father as crap as his." I picked him up and laid him into Natalia's bed. I slipped of his shoes and tucked him in, making sure he wouldn't get cold.

Natalia grabbed my middle in a hug. "If we ever get the chance, we should definitely have a kid."

I laughed and pulled away. "Sure. The first baby in a basket that lands on our doorstep, we can keep."


End file.
